1. Technical Field
This invention relates to apparatus for cutting vegetation, and more particularly to a vegetation cutter in the form of a string trimmer having an internally disposed motor which is supported by a motor mounting plate within a housing of the string trimmer without the need for a plurality of ribs to be formed on interior surfaces of the housing of the string trimmer.
2. Discussion
String trimmers are used in a wide variety of applications to trim vegetation such as grass, weeds, etc. in areas closely adjacent walls, fences and other structure where lawn mowers and other similar vegetation cutters have difficulty or are unable to access sufficiently to perform the needed cutting. Such string trimmers typically include a flexible cutting member in the form of a flexible plastic line which is mounted upon some form of a holding spool. The holding spool is typically coupled to an armature of a motor which is mounted within a lower housing portion of the string trimmer.
With many conventional string trimmers the motor is positioned within a housing by one or more protruding ribs which are integrally formed on interior surfaces of the housing. The housing is also typically constructed in two halves. During assembly the motor is placed on one or more of the protruding ribs of one of the housing halves and the other housing half secured to the first housing half to encapsulate the motor therein such that the motor is supported and held stationary within the housing halves by abutting contact with the ribs.
While the above-described mounting arrangement operates satisfactorily to support a motor within a housing of a string trimmer, this mounting arrangement does require relatively precisely-positioned ribs on the interior surfaces of the housing halves. These ribs somewhat complicate the construction of the two housing halves, which are typically molded from plastic and requires more complex and expensive molds or dies for producing the two housing halves. Additionally, if the ribs are not relatively precisely positioned or of a relatively precise height, then the motor may be able to wobble or otherwise move or cause vibration during operation of the string trimmer. Still further, precisely formed and positioned ribs are often difficult to achieve when certain types of plastic are used to construct the housing. For example, it is usually at least slightly more difficult to precisely form the support ribs from polypropylene than from ABS plastic. It would be highly desirable, however, to be able to use polypropylene for the construction of the housing since it is less costly than ABS plastic.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to have a more simple, yet secure method for mounting a motor of a string trimmer within the string trimmer housing to ensure secure mounting of the motor regardless of minor variations in dimensional or positional tolerances of the interior surfaces of the housing.
In view of the above, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for enabling a motor to be mounted within a housing of a string trimmer in a quick, easy and efficient manner which ensures stable and precise positioning of the motor within a two-piece housing during assembly.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for mounting the motor of a string trimmer within a housing of the string trimmer in a manner which reduces the overall cost of manufacture of the string trimmer, and further which reduces the complexity of the interior surfaces of the housing to thereby reduce the cost of manufacture of the housing and the overall cost of manufacture of the string trimmer.